Usda

Usda: The Usda government is dishing up healthy eating advice, not with a new Food Pyramid, but with an image of a plate.
The new icon (www.choosemyplate.gov), called My Plate, is divided into four sections fruits, vegetables, grains and protein. It replaces the familiar pyramid image, which was first introduced in 1992 and revised in 2005. Many nutritionists believed the pyramid had become too complicated for people to understand easily.

"This is a quick, simple reminder for all of us to be more mindful of the foods that we're eating and as a mom, I can already tell how much this is going to help parents across the country," said first lady Michelle Obamaduring the presentation Thursday.

"When mom or dad comes home from a long day of work, we're already asked to be a chef, a referee, a cleaning crew. So it's tough to be a nutritionist, too. But we do have time to take a look at our kids' plates. As long as they're half full of fruits and vegetables, and paired with lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, we're golden. That's how easy it is.""We eat on plates, not pyramids," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, a registered dietitian in New York City and a nutrition blogger for food.usatoday.com. "This is a graphic that everyone can relate to and visualize."

Although many people recognize the pyramid image, "not many people really knew what it meant," she says.
Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian in Chicago, agrees. "I've already been successfully using a plate icon for more than a decade to educate my clients about healthy eating. My clients find it helpful because they don't eat off of a pyramid, they eat off of a plate and it's a tool that immediately makes sense.

"A plate may work to simplify decision-making at the point where it really counts on the plate," she says.

Official Site www.usda.gov/